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The perfect movie length is 92 minutes. A survey of over 2,000 people found that 92 minutes is the sweet spot for films. Only 2% were okay with a movie stretching over 2.5 hours. So unless you’re remaking The Lord of the Rings, keep it short and sweet, Hollywood. 🍿
What’s in store:
Read Time: 6 minutes
AI INITIATIVE
Walt Disney is creating a new unit called the Office of Technology Enablement to manage its use of advanced technology like AI and mixed reality (XR) across its film, TV, and theme park divisions.
This move shows Disney’s focus on exploring these technologies and managing any risks.
Jamie Voris, who led the development of Disney’s app for the Apple Vision Pro, will head this unit.
Alan Bergman, Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment, noted in an email that staying up to date with rapid changes in AI and XE is essential for improving consumer experience and creative work.
The new unit will make sure projects align with Disney’s overall strategy but won’t centralise all tech work.
Here’s what you should know:
The Office of Technology Enablement will be led by Jamie Voris and oversee AI and XR projects.
The unit will guide projects to fit Disney’s overall strategy but won’t centralise them.
Meta leads the AR/VR market with a 60.5% share but faces growing competition from Sony, Apple, and ByteDance.
From fairy tales to algorithms
Disney has been building its expertise in these areas.
Kyle Laughlin returned to Disney in March as SVP of R&D for Walt Disney Imagineering.
He has experience in AR, VR, and AI and previously worked at Amazon’s Alexa Gadgets after his earlier time at Disney.
Meta holds a 60.5% share of the AR/VR headset market, with about 1.7 million units sold this year.
However, competition is growing from companies like Sony, Apple, and ByteDance.
Disney’s team is looking at ways to use this technology to create new experiences in theme parks and at home.
Disney's new strategy: more VR, less ‘It’s a Small World’.
Is Disney's tech move the future of entertainment or just another trend? |
Vote for live results and see results + opinions from yesterday at the bottom of the email.
STEAL THESE WORKFLOWS
Unlock the secrets of AI automation in this power-packed episode of The Next Wave. Matt and Nathan are sharing their playbook for:
✓ Coding faster using Claude & Perplexity AI
✓ Automating tedious workflows that eat up your day
✓ Discovering hidden SEO opportunities your competitors miss
✓ Running meetings that actually get things done (using AI)
On This Day
November 3rd 1911 - Chevrolet officially enters the automobile market in competition with the Ford Model T.
AI Image Or Real? The Results
Did you guess?
64% said AI
36% said it was real
It was AI. Well done you.
Free Resources
Your mail app is piling up and the numbers are getting way too high? No time to manage those emails? We have just the best tools for that.
Google has added a Google Home extension to the Gemini app, making it possible to control smart homes with the AI assistant.
This feature, available to Android users in the Google home Public Preview program, allows commands like “Set the dining room for a romantic data night” to adjust lighting or “Help me clean up the kitchen” to turn on the vacuum.
Before this update, the Gemini app would switch to Google Assistant for smart home tasks.
Now, users can control smart lighting, climate, window blinds, TVs, speakers, and more directly within the Gemini app.
However, it doesn’t support all devices.
Here’s the lowdown:
The extension does not cover security devices like cameras, locks, or gates, and redirects to the Google Home app for these controls.
The extension cannot run routines.
Amazon and Apple are working on their AI assistants, with Amazon testing updates for Alexa and Apple planning improvements for Siri.
Welcome to the future pad
Amazon is trialling new natural language features for Alexa, with a full release expected next year.
Apple’s Siri will also see updates through Apple Intelligence but isn’t yet part of smart home control.
To use the Google Home extension, join the Google Home Public Preview, which is currently only available in English.
Sign in to the Gemini app with the same account as Google Home.
If Gemini doesn’t use the extension by default, include “@Google Home” in the request.
Gemini’s playing house manager now. Modern problems need modern solutions.
Mindstream Picks
Space: A series of recent SpaceX anomalies led a NASA safety panel to emphasize maintaining safety vigilance for crewed missions.
Crypto: The crypto industry faces layoffs, with Consensys cutting 162 employees, over 20% of its staff, in a major restructuring.
Games: Sony is closing Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios after reviewing its game portfolio and project priorities, announced Hermen Hulst, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Sports: Max Verstappen's push against McLaren was hindered by a late Virtual Safety Car in the Sao Paulo Sprint after overtaking Charles Leclerc for third.
Don’t Miss: Okta revealed a security vulnerability where users could log in with any password if their username exceeded 52 characters and specific conditions were met, such as cached data from prior successful logins and no multi-factor authentication. The issue, present since July 23rd, was fixed by switching from Bcrypt to PBKDF2.
AI Art
Our Image of the Day
Artwork submitted by Mindstream reader Kelly W: “The upside down from Stranger Things”
Daily Image Prompt
A Ghibli version of the PowerPuff Girls
Yesterday’s Poll
“Should publishers be paid when AI uses their content, or is it just part of the digital game?”
They deserve compensation, plain and simple - 62% ✅
Content digital now; deal with it - 38%
Your Views:
“It costs money to produce content. Duh!” - kerry
AI can use any published content as long as the source is acknowledged by a revenue. This is the same standard as given to scholarly research engaged in by humans” - plwillia
Submit your opinions in our daily poll to be featured!
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